North Swindon (UK Parliament constituency)

North Swindon is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative.^{[n 2]}

North Swindon
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of North Swindon in Wiltshire
Location of Wiltshire within England
County	Wiltshire
Electorate	79,488 (December 2010)^[1]
Current constituency
Created	1997
Member of Parliament	Justin Tomlinson (Conservative)
Seats	One
Created from	Swindon

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be formally renamed Swindon North, to be first contested at the next general election.^[2]

History

North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, the Conservatives won the constituency by much higher numbers than their national popular vote margin.

Boundaries

 

Map of current boundaries

1997–2010: The Borough of Thamesdown wards of Blunsdon, Covingham, Gorse Hill, Haydon Wick, Highworth, Moredon, St Margaret, St Philip, Western, and Whitworth, and the District of North Wiltshire ward of Cricklade.

2010–present: The Borough of Swindon wards of Abbey Meads, Blunsdon and Highworth, Covingham and Nythe, Gorse Hill and Pinehurst, Haydon Wick, Moredon, Penhill, St Margaret, St Philip, and Western.

The seat's boundaries encompass an area that before its creation made up parts of the former Swindon constituency and pre-1997 versions of North Wiltshire and Devizes. In the 2010 boundary changes, the town of Cricklade became part of the North Wiltshire constituency while this seat acquired parts of the South Swindon constituency.

Proposed

Further to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, enacted by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, from the next general election, due by January 2025, the constituency will be composed of the following (as they existed on 1 December 2020):

• The Borough of Swindon wards of: Blunsdon and Highworth; Gorse Hill and Pinehurst; Haydon Wick; Penhill and Upper Stratton; Priory Vale; Rodbourne Cheney; St. Andrews; St. Margaret and South Marston.^[3]

In order to bring the electorate within the permitted range and align with revised ward boundaries, the districts of Covingham and Nythe will be transferred to Swindon South.

Constituency profile

The constituency covers a northern part of central Swindon and its northern suburbs (the civil parish of Central Swindon North), and extends northward to take in Blunsdon, the market town of Highworth and the rural parishes surrounding that town.

North Swindon has an electorate of 79,488 (as of 2010^[update]), the majority of whom live in the suburbs or close to Swindon's town centre. In 2001, 52.9% of homes were into the categories of semi-detached or detached in the Swindon Local Authority area; after a 5.0% increase in flats/apartments in 2011, this figure had fallen slightly to 50.3%. In the same period, those registered unemployed rose from 2.5% to 4.2% and those self-employed rose from 6.2% to 7.8%.^[4] In 2010, the unemployment rate for Swindon South was 2.6%, compared to 3.5% in Swindon North. This is one indicator of social deprivation and compares to a rate of 11.0% in 2010 in Birmingham Ladywood, the constituency with the highest rate nationally.^[5]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member^[6]	Party
	1997	Michael Wills	Labour
	2010	Justin Tomlinson	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2020s

Next general election: Swindon North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Andy Bentley^[7]
	Labour	Will Stone^[8]
Majority
Turnout

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: North Swindon^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	32,584	59.1	5.5
	Labour	Kate Linnegar	16,413	29.8	8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Katie Critchlow	4,408	8.0	4.4
	Green	Andy Bentley	1,710	3.1	1.5
Majority			16,171	29.3	14.1
Turnout			55,115	66.9	1.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.1

General election 2017: North Swindon^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	29,431	53.6	3.3
	Labour	Mark Dempsey	21,096	38.4	10.6
	Liberal Democrats	Liz Webster	1,962	3.6	0.3
	UKIP	Steve Halden	1,564	2.8	12.5
	Green	Andy Bentley	858	1.6	1.7
Majority			8,335	15.2	7.3
Turnout			54,911	68.5	4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.65

General election 2015: North Swindon^[11][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	26,295	50.3	5.7
	Labour	Mark Dempsey ^[13]	14,509	27.8	2.7
	UKIP	James Faulkner^[14]	8,011	15.3	11.6
	Green	Poppy Hebden-Leeder	1,723	3.3	2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Ellard^[15]	1,704	3.3	13.9
Majority			11,786	22.5	8.4
Turnout			52,242	64.5	0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.3

General election 2010: North Swindon^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	22,408	44.6	5.7
	Labour	Victor Agarwal	15,348	30.5	14.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Lock	8,668	17.2	4.4
	UKIP	Stephen Halden	1,842	3.7	1.4
	BNP	Reg Bates	1,542	3.1	New
	Green	Bill Hughes	487	1.0	New
Majority			7,060	14.1	N/A
Turnout			50,295	64.2	3.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	10.1

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: North Swindon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Wills	19,612	43.7	9.2
	Conservative	Justin Tomlinson	17,041	38.0	4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Evemy	6,831	15.2	3.6
	UKIP	Robert Tingey	998	2.2	0.3
	Socialist Unity	Andy Newman	208	0.5	New
	Independent	Ernest Reynolds	195	0.4	New
Majority			2,571	5.7	13.5
Turnout			44,885	61.0	0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

General election 2001: North Swindon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Wills	22,371	52.9	3.1
	Conservative	Nick Martin	14,266	33.7	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	David Nation	4,891	11.6	1.3
	UKIP	Brian Lloyd	800	1.9	New
Majority			8,105	19.2	3.2
Turnout			42,328	61.0	12.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: North Swindon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Wills	24,029	49.8
	Conservative	Guy Opperman	16,341	33.8
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Evemy	6,237	12.9
	Referendum	Gillian Goldsmith	1,533	3.2
	Natural Law	Alexander Fisken	130	0.3
Majority			7,688	16.0
Turnout			48,270	73.66
	Labour win (new seat)

Neighbouring constituencies

See also

• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wiltshire

Notes

1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. . 2011 Electorate Figures. Boundary Commission for England. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – South West | Boundary Commission for England". boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
3. "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". Schedule 1 Part 7 South West region.
4. . Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
5. "Unemployment claimants by constituency", The Guardian, 17 November 2010
7. "Stand at the next general election". South West Green Party. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
8. "Labour selections: parliamentary candidates selected so far for the general election". LabourList. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
9. Council, Swindon Borough. "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations North Swindon | Swindon Borough Council". www.swindon.gov.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
10. "ELECTION 2017: Labour choose North Swindon candidate". Swindon Advertiser.
11. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. "Swindon North parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News.
13. . Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
14. "Swindon UKIP Branch".
15. . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014.
16. . Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
17. "Election 2010 - Constituency - Swindon North". BBC News.